DQ Entertainment, the global entertainment production and distribution company, and Ciwen Kids of Ciwen Media Group (“Ciwen”), a leader in the distribution and management of international animation properties in China, have signed a significant content acquisition deal of multiple properties produced by DQE for distribution in Greater China, which includes Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau.
DQE chairman and CEO, Tapaas Chakravarti said in a statement: “This deal is definitely strategic for us and will introduce DQE’s high quality, global kids’ content to China, across multiple platforms. This will be the first time we will be entering this unique and hitherto untapped market. Ciwen Media Group is one of China’s leading distributors of kid’s animation and we are sure that we have found a great partner to represent us in China.”
With the signing of this strategic agreement, DQE will now be able to expand its footprint into the vast and growing kids entertainment market of China. Ciwen will represent DQE properties in Greater China, for television, home video and video-on-demand (“VOD”) distribution for multiple popular properties such as The Jungle Book, Lassie, Lanfuest Quest, Robin Hood, Iron Man and others. The deal is for an initial period of six years and DQE will receive a minimum guarantee fee with a revenue sharing arrangement beyond that.
Ciwen Kids VP, Sean Chu added: “The shows acquired from DQE have a rich cultural and intellectual legacy, further enhanced by modern storytelling and state-of-the-art visual representation. We are confident that the addition of DQE programming to our library will further strengthen Ciwen’s position as China’s leading kids’ animated content provider. We believe that Chinese children and parents will enthusiastically embrace these shows via BuddiesTV, which they can access through multiple platforms and devices. This round of content procurement will surely lay a solid foundation for continued collaborations between Ciwen and DQE.”
Based in Beijing, Ciwen produces and distributes media content including TV dramas and motion pictures, and is one of the biggest animation rights holders in China, with more than 3,000 episodes of the best in kids and family animated programming from around the world. The company has recently launched a VOD service, BuddiesTV, targeting kids in China. BuddiesTV is currently available across most streaming platforms with partners including iQiyi and Tencent Video (online streaming), BesTV (IPTV) and Xiaomi Media Box in mainland China, Macau and Hong Kong. It is also accessible via iOS- and Android-based apps. DQE’s properties will now start being featured on BuddiesTV and will be available to large numbers of kids and families in the Chinese audience.